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Zac Crockett — featured creator
It’s time again to feature another mid-Missouri comic creator and this time we have Zac Crockett up to bat. He’s been working hard this year churning out page after page of quality work that you can see on his deviantART page.
What are you working on now comics-wise?
I’m currently working on three different projects. I’m working on my webcomic “Opey the Warhead” (where I’m about to complete the second issue and then start on the third one), “Anyone but Virginia” (I’m working on the fourth issue of this 5 part story about a superheroine who attends her 10th year school reunion), and a comic strip “Pennies from Heaven” (about an orphan who meets up with a mysterious cat with strange powers).
How’s your comic output been this year? What’s helped or hindered your output?
My comic output last year was quite good, although doubts about the quality of my work seriously hampered, at times, my productivity. What’s helped me move forward in comics like “Opey the Warhead” is writing an outline and script of a given issue before drawing the comic and setting achievable goals for myself on a weekly basis.
Read any good comics/graphic novels lately?
I’ve been reading a whole lot of Sergio Aragones excellent “Groo the Wanderer” comics, specifically “The Groo Nursery”, “Groo the Wanderer 25th Anniversary”, and the miniseries “Groo the Wanderer: Hell on Earth”. I find Aragone’s productivity, humor, and attention to detail inspiring.
How about other media … anything good you like lately? (video, music, books, etc.)
I’ve been watching DVDs of Disney cartoons from the late 80’s and early 90’s, namely “Ducktales“, “Talespin“, and “Darkwing Duck“. I’ve been studying their animation, story telling techniques, and varying styles. I’ve also been playing a little bit of videogames, such as “Resident Evil 4” and “Smash Bros. Melee“. However, most of my spare time is spent drawing.
Why are you drawing a comic series with a warhead as the protagonist?
I’m drawing a story with a nuclear bomb as a protagonist for a number of reasons. One, I love unusual post-apocalyptic stories, so I’ve created my own featuring a living nuclear missile. Second, I enjoy using juxtapositions of disparate ideas. There’s nothing more frightening or dangerous than a nuclear a-bomb, but Opey, despite being a warhead, is actually fairly innocent in nature and friendly. He’s sort of a thermonuclear “Casper the Friendly Ghost”. Opey lives in a society of clones and he struggles with being different. He’d like to fit in but he can’t because of his appearance (he’s a faceless, spooky missile). I like to think he’s an allegory for all those kids who grew up as outcasts in school because they were somehow different.
Posted in: Featured creators